An unexpected candidate is filling the Nuggets’ leadership void

DENVER — Darrell Arthur marched into Nuggets coach Michael Malone’s office before Wednesday night’s matchup against the Phoenix Suns not to lobby for more minutes or an increased role like most players do over the course of the season, but to deliver a message based on a gut feeling he’d developed over the past few weeks.

The 10-year veteran had watched from the bench last month as his team trudged through a road-heavy schedule and played 10 of its 15 games in December away from Pepsi Center. With Malone relying on a seven- or eight-man rotation for most of that stretch, Arthur sensed his teammates had heavy legs.

Denver’s 107-102 loss to the Joel Embiid-less 76ers last Saturday was the final straw for Arthur.

“I went in and talked to coach about playing some other guys, mainly (Kenneth) Faried,” Arthur said. “I think he brings something that no one on else on our team brings, and that’s a lot of energy. He’s passionate about the game. He gets us extra possessions. He does a lot of little things that don’t show up on the stat sheet.”

It turns out Arthur and his coach were on the same wavelength. Malone already planned to expand his rotation to 10 players, including Faried on Wednesday against Phoenix. The forward logged seven minutes, scored four points, recorded two rebounds and was a plus-one overall in the 23-point win.

A self-described “quiet team,” the Nuggets lack a classic “rah-rah” leader. They also lost two of their loudest voices this offseason in Mike Miller and Jameer Nelson. Arthur isn’t that personality by nature either, but he’s filling a void left by those two veterans.

“I feel like somebody has to say something a lot of times,” Arthur said. “I don’t know if guys are nervous to talk or scared or anything like that, but I’ve been in the league. This is my 10th year. So I felt like I need to take on that leadership role. I’m not playing as much, but I see things that players might not see that are playing.”

Arthur’s only appeared in five games for Denver this season, but his words carry a lot of weight in the Nuggets’ locker room. The 29-year-old is a winner who captured a National Championship with Kansas in 2008 and played significant minutes during the Memphis Grizzlies’ Western Conference Finals run in 2013.

Arthur also sees parallels between this Nuggets team and the “Grit and Grind” Grizzlies squads that he played on from 2009-13. Memphis was a Western Conference bottom-feeder that eventually became a playoff staple behind Marc Gasol, Mike Conley and Zach Randolph. The Grizzlies have now made the playoffs in seven-straight seasons. He senses a similar trajectory developing in Denver.

When Arthur speaks, his teammates listen. He’s one of a few Nuggets players who’s close with everyone from Jamal Murray, who was in grade school when Arthur won a championship with the Jayhawks, to Richard Jefferson, who’s 140 career playoff games are just 34 less than the rest of Denver’s roster combined.

“It’s the voice I hear after I’m done talking,” Malone said of Arthur. “It’s invaluable to have a guy like that. Everybody in that locker room respects the hell out of Darrell Arthur.”

“He’s a special guy,” Malone added.

Arthur also spoke with Faried prior to Wednesday’s win. After starting 34 of the 61 games he appeared in last season, Faried’s been in and out of Denver’s lineup all season. Prior to Wednesday, he hadn’t played since the Nuggets’ Dec. 15 win over New Orleans.

“It’s tough when you’ve played in the league and done great in the league and you go to just not playing,” Arthur said, describing his conversation with Faried. “Try to encourage him, stay positive, things can always change. When he goes in, unleash the ‘Manimal.'”

Over the first trimester of Denver’s season, there have been consistent calls for more leadership in the Nuggets’ locker room. After Paul Millsap was injured on Nov. 19, Denver lost one of its most respected voices. Millsap has since rejoined the team but the Nuggets missed his voice in the immediate aftermath of his diagnosis.

After a Nov. 28 loss in Utah, Mason Plumlee called upon his teammates to step up as leaders and hold each other responsible for their poor play.

“I think it’s going to take some leadership, hold people accountable,” Plumlee said. “Somebody has got to step forward and kind of be a voice and get on people and it can’t just be from the staff. We have to take ownership internally and deal with it.”

Long-term, that leadership torch will have to be transferred to one of Denver’s core pieces. Maybe it’s Nikola Jokic, who’s made strides as a leader this season. A more likely scenario is Jamal Murray, who’s too young for that role now but has command of the Nuggets’ locker room when he does have something to say.

But for now, that guy is Arthur.

“Darrell Arthur is all about team,” Malone said. “He says we should play Kenneth. It blew me away because it’s selfless. He wants the best for the team.”